The Tribune

FORMER Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham will lead a Commonwealth Observer Group to Vanuatu for its general election on January 22.

The snap election is being held nine months ahead of schedule, following a period of political instability in which 14 members of parliament were convicted of bribery. The convictions led to a political deadlock between the government and the opposition, which prompted President Baldwin Lonsdale to dissolve parliament.

The Commonwealth’s Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma mobilised the Observer Group at the invitation of the Vanuatu government. He said its work would complement the commonwealth’s ongoing effort to support democracy in the country.

“The commonwealth has a long history of assistance to Vanuatu,” he said. “We have been working with the government and with all political leaders to strengthen democratic processes and institutions in the country.”

The Republic of Vanueta is an Oceanian island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean.